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Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for September 21, 2024. If you missed the September 20th, 2024 UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here.
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UPSC Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues
Mains Examination: GS-II: Constitution of India —historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure; Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions.
What’s the ongoing story- Underlining that the Collegium is not a “search committee”, the Supreme Court on Friday asked Attorney General R Venkataramani to submit a report on the status of the names that were reiterated for appointment as Judges but were yet to be cleared by the Centre.
Prerequisites:
— What is the collegium system?
— What are the constitutional provisions related to the appointment of judges?
Key takeaways:
— “The Collegium is not a search committee. It has a certain status in terms of the constitutional fabric. In the case of a search committee, where the search committee makes a recommendation…there is absolute discretion whether to accept or not accept the recommendation… So you come back to us and tell us what is the status of those (names) which are pending,” the CJI said.
— The Bench was hearing a PIL which sought a “fixed time limit” for the Centre to notify the appointment of Judges recommended by the Collegium…
For Your Information:
— The collegium system of appointment (and transfer) of judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts was laid down by a nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association vs Union of India (1993), commonly known as the Second Judges Case.
— The ruling made the recommendations of the SC collegium binding on the Centre, and gave the power to appoint and transfer judges of the higher judiciary to the judiciary. Under the collegium system, judges choose judges — and while the government can delay their appointments, it cannot reject the collegium’s choice.
Points to Ponder:
— What is the process of appointment of judges in the Supreme Court and High Court?
— What is the process of removal of Supreme Court judges?
— What are the various Court rulings related to the appointment of the judges?
Post Read Question:
Prelims
(1) Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2019)
1. The motion to impeach a Judge of the Supreme Court of India cannot be rejected by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha as per the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.
2. The Constitution of India defines and gives details of what constitutes incapacity and proved misbehaviour’ of the Judges of the Supreme Court of India.
3. The details of the process of impeachment of the Judges of the Supreme Court of India are given in the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.
4. If the motion for the impeachment of a Judge is taken up for voting, the law requires the motion to be backed by each House of the Parliament and supported by a majority of total membership of that House and by not less than two-thirds of total members of that House present and voting.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 3 and 4 only
Mains
Critically examine the Supreme Court’s judgement on ‘National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, 2014’ with reference to appointment of judges of higher judiciary in India. (UPSC CSE 2017)
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
‘Effective consultation’: How SC ruling underlines process of HC judges’ appointment
Rijiju says Collegium system ‘opaque’: What is the Supreme Court Collegium, how does it work?
UPSC Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues
Mains Examination: GS-II: Structure, organisation and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary; Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures.
What’s the ongoing story- In a setback to the Centre, the Bombay High Court Friday struck down as “unconstitutional” the amended IT rules that empower the Government to identify “fake news” on social media platforms through a Fact Check Unit (FCU).
Prerequisites:
— What is a fact check unit?
— What are the recent amendments made to the IT Act?
— What is the test of proportionality?
— Read about Articles 14, 19
Key takeaways:
— Justice Chandurkar agreed with the opinion of Justice Gautam S Patel (now retired), who was part of the division bench that delivered the split verdict earlier, and held that the amendment to the IT Rules, 2023 through Rule 3(1)(b)(v), was violative of Article 14 and 19 (1) (a) and 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution.
— Article 14 refers to equality before the law and the provisions referred to under Article 19 pertain to the right to freedom of speech and expression, and the right to practice a profession or trade.
— According to the IT rules amended in April 2023, content marked by the FCU as “fake or misleading” will have to be taken down by online intermediaries if they wish to retain their “safe harbour” (legal immunity against third-party content).
— The judge noted that the impugned rule sought to “restrict the fundamental right under Article 19 (1) (a) (Freedom of speech and expression) by placing restrictions which were not as per reasonable restrictions provided under Article 19 (2)”. “The same was impermissible through the mode of delegated legislation,” the opinion reads.
For Your Information:
— In April 2022, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEiTY) promulgated the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023 (2023 Rules), which amended the Information Technology Rules, 2021.
— The amendment to Rule 3(1)(b)(v) of the IT Rules, 2021 expanded the general term “fake news” to include “government business”.
— Under the Rules, if the FCU comes across or is informed about any posts that are “fake”, “false”, or contain “misleading” facts pertaining to the business of the government, it would flag it to the social media intermediaries concerned.
— The online intermediaries would then have to take down such content if they wanted to retain their “safe harbour”, that is, legal immunity with regard to third-party content published by them.
— The Rules raised concerns over free speech and the extent to which the government can regulate it. The FCUs allowed the government to be the “only arbiter” of truth in respect of business concerning itself.
— Justice Chandurkar’s opinion has settled the matter in favour of the petitioners by a 2-1 majority. His opinion will be placed before a division Bench of two judges, which will formally announce the 2-1 majority against the impugned Rule. This is the procedural part.
— There is an option of an appeal before the Supreme Court, given that similar issues are pending before the Delhi and Madras HCs too.
Points to Ponder:
— How does the Constitution protect the right to freedom of speech and expression?
— What are the concerns related to the government’s FCU?
— What are the concerns related to the IT Act?
— Why did the Supreme Court struck down the Section 66A of the IT Act?
Post Read Question:
(2) In India, it is legally mandatory for which of the following to report on cyber security incidents? (UPSC CSE 2017)
1. Service providers
2. Data centres
3. Body corporate
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
Apar Gupta writes: New IT rules vest Centre with draconian powers of fact checking
UPSC Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues
Mains Examination: GS-II: Constitution of India —historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure
What’s the ongoing story- Rohan J Alva writes: It may have been cold outside, but on December 6, 1948, tempers in the Constituent Assembly ran high. The Assembly was poised to discuss the future of inarguably one of the most critical entitlements offered by the Constitution — the right to life and personal liberty guaranteed by Article 21.
Prerequisites:
— What do you understand by bail is the rule and jail is the exception?
— What is the significance of Article 21?
— What are the provisions related to bail in the constitution?
Key takeaways:
— In an erudite and scintillating speech, K M Munshi presented a programmatic argument on why due process protection has to be given for a person’s life and liberty… In a clash between due process rights and ordinary legislation, the Constitution could not be silent.
— He received widespread support from the likes of K T Shah, Bakshi Tek Chand and Purnima Banerji.
— In July, a division bench of the Supreme Court (SC) examined whether a person would be entitled to bail even under strict laws like the UAPA if the trial proceeded at a snail’s pace. In other words, do constitutional courts have supreme discretion to grant bail irrespective of the nature of the law involved?
— The SC invoked Article 21 and the right to life and personal liberty to declare that when a trial has been prolonged, the accused person cannot be kept behind bars forevermore, notwithstanding the seriousness of the charge. In other words, no law can sanction permanent custody behind bars.
— Onerous restrictions contained in the penal laws cannot constrain the powers of a constitutional court to protect due process rights.
— This trend in judicial thought was reaffirmed by the SC once again last month when a bench of Justices B R Gavai and Justice K V Viswanathan speaking in the context of bail under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, observed that since the right to life and personal liberty is a “higher constitutional right, statutory provisions should align themselves to the said higher constitutional edict.”
— The most illuminating part of this decision is the emphasis on ensuring the protection of due process rights, and the statement that statutes cannot prevail over fundamental rights, especially the right to life and liberty.
— There was a time in Indian constitutional jurisprudence when one of the most time-honoured principles was that bail is the rule and jail is the exception. It was the most logical outcome of the idea of preserving personal liberty.
— Yet, as these recent decisions demonstrate, courts can maintain their fidelity to the Constitution while also providing a working framework for laws which deal with special situations. Nonetheless, and at long last, it now appears that juristic thought is moving towards reviving the pro-bail approach.
For Your Information:
— On bail, the Court has, in recent cases, side-stepped a narrow reading of the law. In granting bail to Manish Sisodia, it said that delay in trial had to be read into the bail law, and that the law can be “relaxed” if the accused has undergone a long period of incarceration.
— In another case in May, Ajay Ajit Peter Kerkar vs Directorate of Enforcement, the SC extended the principle that a person who has spent half of the maximum sentence as an undertrial shall be released on bail, even in money laundering offences.
Points to Ponder:
— What is the difference between the procedure established and due process of law?
— How is the right to life and personal liberty protected by the constitution?
Post Read Question:
(3) Right to Privacy is protected as an intrinsic part of Right to Life and Personal Liberty. Which of the following in the Constitution of India correctly and appropriately imply the above statement? (UPSC CSE 2018)
(a) Article 14 and the provisions under the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution
(b) Article 17 and the Directive Principles of State Policy in Part IV
(c) Article 21 and the freedoms guaranteed in Part III
(d) Article 24 and the provisions under the 44th Amendment to the Constitution
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
Once again, Supreme Court underlines that jail is the exception, bail is the rule
Bail is the rule, jail exception even in PMLA cases, Article 21 higher right
UPSC Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Indian polity and Governance- Constitution, Political System
Mains Examination: GS-II: Polity, Parliament and State legislatures, Constitutional Bodies.
What’s the ongoing story- That the Union cabinet would clear the plan for One Nation One Election (ONOE), having accepted the Ram Nath Kovind committee report’s unanimous recommendation, was foretold.
Prerequisites:
— What is One Nation One Election?
— Why Kovind Committee was formed?
Key takeaways:
— The Kovind Committee in September 2023- Its composition and terms of reference were so skewed that, with due respect to the former President, it was a rubber stamp in the thin garb of a committee discussing electoral reforms in the world’s most populous democracy.
— Its eight members had either openly expressed their support for simultaneous polls or were seen to be broadly in tune with the government and its favoured projects.
— Despite the serious implications of ONOE for the federal system, and in spite of it raising concerns about the national dominating the local, no regional party leader, no chief minister, was taken on board.
— In a democracy as diverse as India, the sooner the ONOE is given up for dead, the better. It goes against the founding vision of this nation — of a parliamentary and federal system, not one that is presidential and unitary. In a federal structure, each state has unique contestations within and with the Centre; the Lok Sabha is the citizen’s voice at the Centre.
— To frame these complexities in terms of cost-cutting and convenience is doing disservice to the Constitution’s spirit. Quite simply, elections must be held whenever and wherever governments lose the trust of the people as embodied and expressed by their representatives.
— That’s a constitutional guarantee without any qualifications. Imposing a calendar and defining limits for the House, undermines the will of we, the people.
For Your Information:
From the Ideas Page
— Ram Madhav writes: One Nation, One Election prioritises good governance, will ensure greater accountability
— Today, with elections taking place every six months in one or the other part of the country, governance becomes the biggest casualty. Pressure on human and financial resources too is enormous.
— There are certain issues on which Parliament needs to hold a healthy debate. One reason why the five-year cycle is disturbed is the lapsing of governments into a minority due to defections…
— Another destabilising challenge is the business of no-confidence motions…
Points to Ponder:
— What are the pros and cons of One Nation One Election?
— Read about the process of election in India- Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, Legislative Assemblies, Legislative Councils, and local bodies
Post Read Question:
(4) Which of the following committees are related to One Nation One Election?
(a) Malimath Committe
(b) Mulla Committee
(c) Kasturirangan Committee
(d) Kovind Committee
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
Must be challenged in House and Court
For a more efficient democracy
UPSC Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues
Mains Examination: GS-II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
What’s the ongoing story- Operation Flood, launched in 1970, ushered in the White Revolution and transformed the dairy sector in India. On Thursday, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah announced plans for “White Revolution 2.0”.
Prerequisites:
— What is Operation Flood?
— What is the role of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)?
— What is the National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD) 2.0?
Key takeaways:
— The idea of White Revolution 2.0 revolves around cooperative societies, which were also the bedrock of Operation Flood five decades ago.
— Dairy cooperatives procured 660 lakh kg of milk per day in 2023-24; the government wants to increase this to 1,007 lakh kg/ day by 2028-29. For this, it has formulated a strategy of expanding coverage and deepening the reach of cooperatives…
— Since it was created in 2021, the Ministry of Cooperation has focused on expanding the network of cooperatives, in particular dairy cooperatives.
— According to officials of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), the regulator of the dairy industry in India, dairy cooperatives operate in around 70% of the country’s districts…
— NDDB has drawn up an action plan to establish about 56,000 new multipurpose dairy cooperative societies over the next five years, and to strengthen 46,000 existing village level DCSs by providing more advanced milk procurement and testing infrastructure.
— The bulk of the funding for White Revolution 2.0 will come through the National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD) 2.0, a new central sector scheme under the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
— Under the scheme, financial assistance will be provided to set up village-level milk procurement systems, chilling facilities, and training and capacity-building.
— India is the world’s top milk producer, with production having reached 230.58 million tonnes during 2022-23. In 1951-52, the country produced just 17 million tonnes of milk.
— The average yield is, however, only 8.55 kg per animal per day for exotic/ crossbred animals, and 3.44 kg/ animal/ day for indigenous/ nondescript animals.
— The national per capita availability of milk is 459 grams/ day, which is higher than the global average of 323 g/ day; this number, however, varies from 329 g in Maharashtra to 1,283 g in Punjab.
— About 63% of the total milk production comes to the market; the remaining is kept by producers for their own consumption. About two-thirds of the marketable milk is in the unorganised sector. In the organised sector, cooperatives account for the major share.
For Your Information:
— Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Thursday launched ‘White Revolution 2.0’, along with an action plan on the formation and strengthening of two lakh new Multipurpose Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies, dairy and fishery cooperatives and a standard operating procedure on ‘cooperation among cooperatives’.
Points to Ponder:
— What is the significance of dairy cooperatives?
— What are the challenges faced by the dairy sector in India?
— How does the government plan to enhance milk yield through genetic improvement and new breeding technologies?
Post Read Question:
(5) Consider the following pairs:
| Agriculture Revolution | Product |
| 1. White Revolution | : Milk |
| 2. Black Revolution | : Petroleum product |
| 3. Silver Revolution | : Onion |
| 4. Blue Revolution | : Fish |
How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) Only three
(d) All four
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
Amit Shah unveils ‘White Revolution 2.0’, promises ‘full budgetary support’
How to bring about White Revolution 2.0
UPSC Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
Mains Examination: GS-II: India and its neighbourhood- relations; Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora
What’s the ongoing story- Sri Lanka will vote to elect a new president on Saturday (September 21) in the country’s first election since the mass protests of 2022 that led to the ouster of the unpopular Rajapaksas from power. (Brothers Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa were prime ministers and presidents respectively).
Prerequisites:
— What is debt-trap diplomacy?
— What is the system of governance in Sri Lanka?
Key takeaways:
— For most Sri Lankans, thus, the economy is the primary issue in the elections. India too, is watching the election closely; New Delhi has deep strategic stakes in Sri Lanka.
— In total, 38 candidates, all men, are in fray to be the next president of Sri Lanka. The country’s 17 million eligible voters can vote for up to three candidates, and the person securing more than 50% of the total vote share is declared the winner.
— In case no candidate passes this mark in the first round, there is a legal provision for a run-off election between the two frontrunners.
— India’s vital concern in recent years has been to counter Beijing’s increasing influence in Sri Lanka…
— With the loss of a pro-India regime in Maldives, and more recently, in Bangladesh, India would want to ensure that it maintains healthy relations with whoever comes to power in Sri Lanka — even if he were not New Delhi’s “preferred” candidate.
For Your Information:
— The 2024 presidential election in Sri Lanka can prove to be a turning point in the nation’s political, social and economic history. The backdrop of this election is one of profound crisis — both in terms of governance and the economy — offering a historic opportunity for the electorate to shape the country’s future.
Points to Ponder:
— Compare and contrast the election process of the Prime Ministerial election in India and Sri Lanka.
— What is the 13th Amendment to Sri Lanka’s constitution?
— What is the significance of Sri Lanka for India?
Post Read Question:
‘India is an age-old friend of Sri Lanka.’ Discuss India’s role in the recent crisis in Sri Lanka in the light of the preceding statement. (UPSC CSE 2022)
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
Sri Lanka’s elections, a country at the crossroads: Is it time for radical change?
UPSC Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
Mains Examination: GS-II, III: Important International institutions, agencies, and fora- their structure, mandate, Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security; money-laundering and its prevention, Security challenges and their management in border areas – linkages of organized crime with terrorism
What’s the ongoing story- The global money laundering and terror financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) came out with the Mutual Evaluation Report for India on Thursday. While India gained comfort from being placed in the regular follow-up category, the FATF flagged certain areas for improvement…
Prerequisites:
— What is the role of FATF?
— What is money laundering?
Key takeaways:
— The areas of improvement: the need to strengthen prosecution in money laundering (ML) and terror financing (TF) cases, protecting the non-profit sector from terrorist abuse, and supervision and implementation of preventive measures.
— The FATF is the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog. The Paris-based intergovernmental organisation was formed in 1989 as a G7 initiative to examine and develop measures to combat money laundering. In 2001, the FATF expanded its mandate to also combat terrorist financing.
— The FATF, a 40-member body, has outlined a framework of measures to help countries tackle illicit financial flows. These are listed as 40 Recommendations that are divided into seven distinct areas:
(1) AML/CFT Policies and coordination,
(2) Money laundering and confiscation,
(3) Terrorist financing and financing of proliferation,
(4) Preventive measures,
(5) Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons and arrangements,
(6) Powers and responsibilities of competent authorities and other institutional measures,
(7) International cooperation.
— India became a member of FATF in 2020. Prior to this report, the FATF had undertaken an evaluation for India in June 2010. India was then placed in the “regular follow-up” category, but was subsequently removed after a follow-up report in June 2013… India’s onsite assessment by FATF happened in November last year, while the assessment came up for discussion in the plenary discussion in June 2024.
— The FATF monitors countries to ensure they implement the FATF standards fully and effectively. FATF mutual evaluations are in-depth country reports that analyse the implementation and effectiveness of measures taken against money laundering, terrorist and proliferation financing.
— The reports are peer reviews, where members from different countries assess another country. After an analysis of a country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing system, mutual evaluations give recommendations to further strengthen a country’s system.
— The “regular follow-up” rating is currently shared by only four other G20 countries — the UK, France, Italy and Russia (suspended from FATF in February 2023). Most of the developing countries are in the “enhanced follow-up” category, which requires submission of reports on an annual basis, as against once in three years in the “regular follow-up” category.
For Your Information:
Improvement areas for India
— The FATF in its report said that the main sources of money laundering in India originate from within, and the country faces a “disparate range” of terrorism threats from regional insurgencies in the Northeast and North, and Left-Wing Extremist groups…
— India’s largest money laundering risks are related to fraud including cyber-enabled fraud, corruption and drug trafficking.
— The FATF enlisted several areas for improvement: limited number of prosecutions and convictions, risk-profiling of customers of financial institutions…
— For the non-profit organisations (NPO) sector, the FATF said India should ensure that measures aimed at preventing the sector from being abused for terror financing are implemented.
— It also called for major changes to address delays in prosecution of terror financing cases… the report said although the number of money laundering investigations increased since the review period, the number of prosecution complaints and concluded trials did not show a proportionate increase.
Points to Ponder:
— What are the various stages of money laundering?
— What is the difference between the regular follow-up category and the enhanced follow-up category?
— What are the global initiatives to curb money laundering and terror financing?
Post Read Question:
(6) Consider the following statements about the Financial Action Task Force (FATF):
1. FATF was formed after the initiative of G7.
2. FATF maintains a “grey list” of countries that it watches closely.
3. FATF has given “enhanced follow-up” rating to India which is shared by only four other G20 countries.
How many of the above statements are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
FATF on India: Effective anti-money laundering system, low prosecution
| PRELIMS ANSWER KEY |
| 1. (c) 2. (d) 3. (c) 4. (d) 5. (c) 6. (a) |
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